The present invention relates generally to portable audio storage systems, and more particularly, to a portable audio database device employing a hierarchical audio database and an icon-based user-interface.
Various portable audio recording devices have been developed that permit a user to store and retrieve audio messages to and from the device. Recent advancements in digital integrated circuit technology have resulted in the manufacture of solid-state memory ICs that are often incorporated into such recording and playback devices. Two such conventional audio recording devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,491,774 and 5,359,698.
Although these and other conventional audio recording devices typically permit a user to record a limited number of messages in a common memory area, such devices offer little or no capability to organize the recorded messages. Further, conventional audio recording devices typically employ a relatively primitive user-interface that generally limits the degree to which a user may interact with the device. A typical user-interface for a portable audio recording device generally includes a number of manually actuated switches that control device operations and one or more LEDs that are transitioned between an ON state and an OFF state. Although currently available audio recording devices may offer a number of useful features, the primitive nature of such conventional user-interfaces often discourages many users from exploiting all but the most basic of available features. More sophisticated functions are often not incorporated into such portable audio recording devices, since accessing and executing such functions is often made impracticably cumbersome due to the limitations of conventional user-interfaces.
A common deficiency inherent in many conventional portable audio recording devices is the present inability of such devices to effectively manage large volumes of audio information. Conventional audio recording devices are generally unable to effectively manage a large number of independent audio recordings of varying types in an organized manner. Although various known personal computer software applications, such as most currently available word processors, are generally capable of managing a large number of text files, the problem of effectively organizing and managing a large number of audio recordings stored in a portable audio recording device remains unsolved.
There exists a need for a portable device that is capable of organizing and managing a large number of audio recordings in an effective and efficient manner. There exists a further need for an intuitive user-interface for such a device that permits a user to exploit a wide variety of simple and sophisticated functions. The present invention fulfills these and other needs.
The present invention is a method and apparatus for storing and retrieving information to and from a memory of a hand-held audio database device. The audio database device includes a memory configured to support a hierarchical memory structure for categorizing and storing audio information. The audio database device further includes a graphics display provided on a hand-held housing for displaying graphical information. A microphone and a speaker are provided on the housing to receive and broadcast audio information from and to a user, respectively. A memory in the audio database device is configured to store graphical icons, wherein the icons graphically represent the categories within which audio and, if applicable, text information is stored. A user-actuated navigation control is provided on the housing and permits a user to navigate the categories in the hierarchical memory structure and to select a desired category. A processor is coupled to the memory, the display, and the navigation control and effects displaying of one of the icons on the display when the user is navigating a corresponding one of the categories, and storing of the audio information in the desired category of the memory.
The system memory is a non-volatile memory, such as flash EEPROM memory, and stores audio, textual, graphical information. One or more external modular memories may be coupled to the housing to provide increased information storage capacity or may be employed to store application programs or other information received from an external information source. An object-based operating system may be implemented in which information objects are associated with the audio information and prompt objects are associated with the icons. The audio database device may also include a communications adapter coupled to the processor to communicate the audio information to a device external to the audio database device. A voice conversion device may be coupled to the processor to convert the audio information received from the user to corresponding command signals, wherein the processor effects navigation of the categories in the hierarchical memory structure and selection of the desired category using the command signals.
Further, a voice conversion device may be coupled to the processor to convert the audio information received from the user to corresponding ASCII information. The audio database device may also include a text conversion device to convert text information stored in the memory to corresponding audio information. Cooperative operation between the graphical interface display panel and the navigation control permits a user to efficiently move audio information, verbal labels and icons between categories.